New Delhi, 24 February 2020 (Reuters) : U.S. President Donald Trump will be accorded the biggest public reception given to any foreign leader in years during his visit to India beginning on Monday, officials say, one that could help paper over the two countries’ growing friction over trade.
Close political and security partners, India and the United States have hit each other with retaliatory tariffs. Over the past month they have engaged in intense negotiations to produce a mini-trade deal, but officials in both countries say it remains elusive.
The two sides have been arguing over U.S. demands for access to India’s huge poultry and dairy markets, Indian price controls on medical devices such as stents and stringent local data storage rules that U.S. technology firms say will raise the costs of doing business.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has sought restoration of trade concessions that Trump withdrew in 2019 and greater access to U.S. markets for its pharmaceutical and farm products. Above all, it says that Trump should not treat India on par with China, whose economy is five times larger.
Trump has been saying in recent days that he may be saving the “big deal” on trade until after the U.S. presidential election in November.
Senior Trump administration officials acknowledged on Friday that the two-day visit would not result in a limited trade deal, saying that Washington still had too many concerns about India’s increasing trade barriers.
“We want to address a lot of concerns and we’re not quite there yet,” a senior Trump administration official told reporters.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who has been leading trade talks with India, will not be part of Trump’s delegation, which will include the president’s daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in Modi’s political hometown of Ahmedabad to greet Trump for a road show leading to a rally in a cricket stadium with a capacity of over 100,000.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in Modi’s political hometown of Ahmedabad to greet Trump for a road show leading to a rally in a cricket stadium with a capacity of over 100,000.